Apparatus for unloading and storing razor blades



Dec. 17, 1963 J. N. LA TULIP 3,114,204

APPARATUS FOR UNLOADING AND STORING RAZOR BLADES Filed July 18, 1962 'INVENTOR JOSEPH N.- L u TULIP United States Patent 3,114,204 APPARATUS FOR UNLOADTNG AND STORING RAZOR BLADES J oseph N La Tulip, 201 W. 7th St., Oswego, N.Y. Filed July 18, 1962, Ser. No. 210,776 6 Claims. (Cl. 30-40) This invention relates to safety razors and particularly to a novel apparatus for removing used blades from such razors and for storing such blades after their removal.

There are a variety of safety razors in use which are so designed that it is either necessary or desirable to actually grasp the blade with the hand in order to remove it so that a new blade can be inserted. During the blade removal operation there is of course considerable danger of easily cutting the hand, even though reasonable caution is exercised to prevent such an occurrence. As an alternative procedure, the blade may be dropped out of some razors merely by inverting the razor after the blade retaining mechanism is released. Even employing this technique however, the danger of cutting the hands is not eliminated since in most instances the hand would be used to pick up the blade and place it in a suitable container or otherwise dispose of it.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide means for removing a blade from a safety razor in a simple, efiicient and harmless manner and for storing the blades so removed.

It is another object to provide a device for removing a blade from a safety razor so that it is unnecessary to manually grasp the blade in order that danger of injury to the hands is entirely eliminated.

These and other objects, features and advantages of my invention will become apparent from a reading of the specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a razor blade receiving receptacle constructed in accordance with the principles of the invention,

FIG. 2 is a view taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1 showing details of construction of a magnetic assembly utilized as a part of the invention, and

FIG. 3 illustrates one manner in which the receptacle can be employed for unloading a used blade from a safety razor.

Referring now particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown a razor blade unloading receptacle or container designated generally by the numeral for cooperating with a safety razor to remove used blades therefrom. The receptacle may be constructed from a variety of preferably non-magnetic materials and is generally of rectang lar shape with substantially parallel sides 11, ends 12 and 13 and a bottom section 14. The end 12 has opposite flanges 15 and is adapted for pivoted opening and closing, as will appear, by means of a hinge pin 16. The end 12 is maintained tightly closed by a suitable locking means such as the indented portions 17 on each flange 15 which cooperate with apertures 18 in the sides :11. The size of the receptacle is such as to accommodate a thin stack of standard size double edge razor blades lying therein parallel to the bottom section 14.

Each of the sides 11 is provided at the top with a track or channel member 19 for holding a cover 20 in slidable engagement therewith. The cover is provided with a central slot 22 for a purpose as will later appear. A handle 24 is also provided to grasp the cover to slide it along the tracks 19 for effecting opening and closing of the 20 for engaging the upper edge 28 of the end 13, thereby limiting the outward travel of the cover. The inward travel is limited by the protruding portion 30 of the end 12. The cover is secured in its closed position with the aid of a depression 32 in the cover. As the cover is closed, the depression 32 engages the upper edge 28 of the end 13, causing the cover to flex or bend slightly upward. The depression thus rides over the upper edge :28 and, once inside the end 13, restrains the cover from sliding open, but does permit the cover to be opened again simply by pulling the handle 24. A pair of locating members 33a and 33-h are also provided on the receptacle to aid in positioning it with respect to the razor with which it is used, as will later appear.

Referring now particularly to FIG. 2, the bottom of the receptacle 10 is provided with a magnetic assembly, designated generally by the numeral 34. This assembly includes a structure or housing 36 for enclosing a magnet 38 secured to a manually operable button 40. The magnet 38 is shown as having a generally U-shaped crosssection with opposite poles 38a and 3812. However, it will be appreciated that the invention can be practised with magnets of various shapes. The magnet is movable in a vertical direction within the housing 36 against the pressure of a spring 42 by pressing the button 40. The spring is preferably of a non-maignetic metal as is the housing 36 so as to produce a magnetic field of maximum effectiveness for the particular magnet employed. The backward travel of the button 40 is limited by means of a circular lip stop 44 in cooperation with an annular flange 46 on the lower side of the button.

The principles of my invention are applicable to safety razors of various design, however a razor of the type shown in United States Letters Patent 2,009,272, now expired, will be used for purposes of illustration. The cap of this razor comprises a pair of generally arcuate shaped pivoted members 48 and 50, see FIG. 3, which are adapted to be opened and closed so that the blade 52 can be changed. These members are actuated by means of a suitable mechanical arrangement controlled by turning a rotatable portion, not shown, of the handle 54.

When it is desired to change the blade in the razor, the pivotable members 48 and 50 are opened to the position shown in FIG. 3 and the blade receptacle 10 with its cover 20 closed, is fitted over the blade 52 with the yoke 53 of the razor extending into the slot 22 of the cover. The protruding portion 30 of the receptacle end 12 and the locating members 33a and 33b serve to accurately position the receptacle with regard to the razor so that blade removal can be effected without difliculty. With the receptacle properly positioned on the razor, the cover 20 is then opened by pulling the handle 24 to the full open position i.e., until the stop tabs 26 engage the fixed end 13 of the receptacle. The magnet 38 is then depressed by means of the plunger or button 40 so that it is advanced into close proximity with the blade, causing it to be quickly lifted up into contact with the magnet. The cover 20 can then be closed and the receptacle disengaged from the razor. A new blade can then be insorted in the razor. It should be noted that if a magnet of suflicient strength is employed, it would not be absolutely necessary for the magnet to be movably mounted as described above in order to have an operable arrangement.

After a number of unloader receptacle,

simply by opening the hinged end 12 and removing the blades as a group by grasping them at their ends. Alternatively, the blades may be removed by suitable means provided to the magnet. With such an arrangement, a stronger receptacle can be obtained since the end 12 need not then be opened and can therefore be made an integral part of the receptacle body.

It will be appreciated that the receptacle 10 could be used if desired, without the magnetic assembly, to remove a blade from the razor. This is achieved by placing the receptacle on the razor in the position shown in FIG. 3 with the cover 20 open. With the receptacle held against the razor, they are inverted together so that the blade will fall into the receptacle. The razor can then be disengaged from the receptacle, and inverted and is ready to receive a new blade. A simple receptacle without the magnet however has the disadvantage that the razor and receptacle must be inverted together, which is cumbersome and impractical. Additionally the blade may tend to stick in the razor Without the positive lifting force of the magnet to remove the blade.

It will be appreciated that by means of my invention, the used blade may be quickly and easily removed from a safety razor without any danger of injury to the hands which usually accompanies the blade removing operation. Additionally, the receptacle serves as a used blade storage container which, as with any other permanent type container, need only be emptied from time to time.

Since many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for removing a razor blade from a safety razor comprising a container having substantially parallel sides and also having end portions and a bottom section, magnetic means disposed within said container, and a cover held in slidable engagement with the body of said container for opening and closing said container at its top, said cover being normally closed and being opened when said container is in a suitable position of engagement with said razor so that said blade will be drawn into said container by the influence of said magnetic means.

2. The invention as set forth in claim 1 wherein said magnetic means is mounted for movement in the direction of said blade to thereby more effectively utilize the magnetic attracting force of said magnetic means.

3. The invention as recited in claim 1 wherein said sides include a pair of grooves for supporting said cover in slidable engagement with the body of said container.

4. The invention as recited in claim 1 which further includes means on said container for accurately positioning said container with respect to said razor to thereby insure transfer of said blade from said razor to said container.

5. Apparatus for removing a razor blade from a safety razor comprising a container having substantially parallel sides and ends and a bottom section, a magnetic assembly including a permanent magnet disposed adjacent the bottom of said container, said magnetic assembly including a spring for maintaining said magnet in a normal position against a stop means, a groove associated with each of said sides, a cover adapted for slidable movement in said grooves for opening and closing said container at its top, means on said container for positioning said container accurately with respect to said razor, and means actuatable from the outside of said container against the force of said spring for advancing said magnet in the direction of said blade to thereby cause said blade to be lifted from said razor by the influence of said magnet.

6. The invention as recited in claim 5 which further includes means for opening one end of said container to remove the blades stored therein.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,952,596 Lashar Mar. 27, 1934 2,094,722 Sandford Oct. 5, 1937 2,321,570 Billing June 15, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,047,304 France July 22, 1953 

1. APPARATUS FOR REMOVING A RAZOR BLADE FROM A SAFETY RAZOR COMPRISING A CONTAINER HAVING SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL SIDES AND ALSO HAVING END PORTIONS AND A BOTTOM SECTION, MAGNETIC MEANS DISPOSED WITHIN SAID CONTAINER, AND A COVER HELD IN SLIDABLE ENGAGEMENT WITH THE BODY OF SAID CONTAINER FOR OPENING AND CLOSING SAID CONTAINER AT ITS TOP, SAID COVER BEING NORMALLY CLOSED AND BEING OPENED WHEN SAID CONTAINER IS IN A SUITABLE POSITION OF ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID RAZOR SO THAT SAID BLADE WILL BE DRAWN INTO SAID CONTAINER BY THE INFLUENCE OF SAID MAGNETIC MEANS. 